24
by x-Shadow-x
Summary: Dark events have been set into motion and the Bladebreakers have 24 hours to save dozens of hostages and their captain [DEATHFIC] Part 3 up
1. Never Ends

24

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WARNING!! This fic is rated **R** for a reason. It's gonna be violent, people are going to be killed and there will be masses of torture and such. I can't be held responsible for those who do not heed my warning. I don't want angry people on my back cos of the high violence level that will emerge in later chapters. **This will be violent **so if violence isn't your thing go and read something else please. I don't want any of my stories or even my account removed, so if you oppose this kind of thing you shouldn't read this particular fic. I can't stress this enough, with the amount of people getting kicked from here I need to be careful. **This story is not aimed at younger fans!! **This story is aimed at older fans like myself, so younger fans are advised to not read this at all. Though the violence level will not exceed what is stated in the R rating area, it will still be vicious. Please take this all into account before you start reading and I will be grateful. Thank you!

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade, no matter how much I wish I did. Sort of loosely based on the series 24, but I'm not too sure as I've only seen a few episodes at a friend's house, so I don't own anything in this story that may be linked to that. Taking place two years after G Rev, and I won't know how that goes until next week when it starts airing over here, so don't sue me! OK all those who haven't been deterred by my warning; enjoy the fic

One

A deathly silence had fallen over the Granger dojo. Only the slight rustle of the autumn leaves as a zephyr blew through them could be heard. Not one of the Granger family were outside today. But the soft autumn quiet was soon cracked by the loud dismayed shriek of a seventeen-year-old teenager, emanating from within the dojo.

"NO!!" the teen yelled out again in despair. He removed his baseball cap and slammed it to the ground in annoyance. "I lost again!!"

"That's right Tyson," his blonde friend grinned, holding out his open palm. "So fess up. I think you must owe me two bottles of soda and thirteen candy bars by now!"

"Uh…can I write you an I O U Max?" Tyson asked sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head with his hand, and then reaching down to retrieve his now rumpled cap. Max sighed heavily, recoiling his hand slowly and putting it on his forehead.

"Yeah I guess so," he replied, with a sense of defeat in his voice. The Bladebreakers, save one impassive team captain, had been indoors all morning playing cards. Tyson had made the game interesting by putting some gambling into it, but he had no idea Max was so good at card games. If he had known, he would have never bet all those candy bars on it. Ray, Kenny and Hilary had also joined in the game, though not winning they knew when to quit. Kai was sat alone by the door staring out into the stillness. He wasn't one for playing silly games. He wanted to go outside and train, but old Mr Granger had refused to allow them outside until he had cleaned the fallen leaves away, and as luck would have it he has misplaced his rake. Either misplaced or one of the younger Bladebreakers had hidden it from the old man on purpose to slither out of the vicious training schedule, as it was well-known by them that Beyblading with leaves around was very slippery and very difficult.

"How many games in a row have you lost now Tyson?" Hilary sneered trying to recall how the World Champion Beyblader had been defeated so consecutively. Tyson started to fume at the girl.

"Like it matters! It's just a card game!!" Tyson snapped in response.

"Yeah…a card game in which you owe me two bottles of soda and thirteen candy bars!" Max's ever-present grin returned to his face once more, recalling his many victories over the blue-eyed blader and the marvellous haul he had won. Tyson flopped onto his back dejectedly.

"Face it Tyson, cards aren't your thing dude," Ray smiled, trying as best he could to console the wounded pride of the dragon.

"Stick to the day job!" Hilary advised smugly, totally messing up Ray's gentle tactic. Ray sighed heavily as Tyson and Hilary erupted into yet another argument concerning Tyson's skills as a Beyblader and Hilary's apparent lack of dress sense, as Tyson saw it.

"Man, I wish we were out training," Max whispered over to Ray and Kenny. "How in the world did Tyson manage to hide that rake so good? I mean, Grandpa is really sharp for an old guy, so I thought he would have found it by now!"

"I was hoping he would have found it too," Kenny agreed. "Cos this is all starting to get boring. I'm sure Kai agrees." and with that he motioned over to their quiet leader, who was paying them zero attention as usual.

"I wish I could just switch myself off like Kai does sometimes," Ray said, noticing the placidity in Kai's eyes and the lack of concern on his face. "None of Tyson's crap seems to phase him one bit."

"Oh come on! Nothing in hell or earth seems to phase Kai!" Max stated. This was quite true, for nothing really shook Kai up too easily. Make no mistake, they had seen him shook up before, but the reason was usually something they would have gone insane over at that point.

"Wasn't Mr Dickinson supposed to call?" Kenny asked, as the argument raged on between their female companion and the easily angered boy.

"He was…" Ray noted, suddenly seeming concerned. "He said he'd call at around eleven and it's half one already. It's not like Mr Dickinson to forget to call us."

"I know…this is weird…" Max added, slipping into thought. "Maybe one of us should give him a call at his office or something?"

"I think someone is thinking ahead of us Max," Kenny said, pointing over to Kai, who had his cell phone in his hand and was punching in a number. "Kai, are you calling Mr Dickinson?"

"Hn," was Kai's reply as he brought the phone up to his ear. There was a brief pause before Kai engaged in conversation with the person who picked up the phone. "Is Mr Dickinson there?" Kai asked. He listened to the reply, and interjected in between. "He's out?! When did he leave?!" another pause. "Two hours ago? Where did he say he was going?" with this next pause a spark of concern seemed to flare in his violet eyes. "It takes fifteen minutes tops to get here by car, why the hell is it that he's not here then?!" Kai was starting to get annoyed, but the others could tell he was worried. Upon Kai raising his voice, Tyson and Hilary's momentous argument ceased. "Yeah fine whatever!" and with that Kai hung up, locking the phone's keypad and shoving it into his pocket. After a moment he looked over to the expectant faces of his team mates.

"What was that about Kai?" Max asked slowly to try and break the tension forming between them all. Kai's gaze fell to the floor.

"Mr Dickinson apparently left his office at half eleven this morning to meet with us here," Kai replied. "But, as you can see, he hasn't made it. The secretary at his office has been trying to call him since twelve but his phone seems to be out of operation."

"Out of operation?" Hilary asked, removing her arm from its strangle lock around Tyson's neck. Tyson took in a deep breath and breathed it back out again before reaffixing his attention to the matter at hand.

"Mr Dickinson is a businessman guys, I doubt he'd knock his phone out of commission on purpose," Max said, worry tainting his words.

"Maybe he didn't," Ray said.

"Maybe someone else did," Kai finished Ray's sentence. Ray looked over to Kai, fear starting to shimmer in his amber eyes. That wasn't the ending Ray had intended for this particular sentence, and the prospect that something awful had happened to Mr Dickinson chilled his blood.

"This is insane!" Tyson cried out, bringing everyone's attention to him. "Who the hell would want Mr Dickinson?!"

"Who wouldn't?" Kai responded with his own question. "Tyson, has it ever dawned on you that Mr Dickinson is a very wealthy man and has a lot of power within the BBA? If anyone wanted vital information from the BBA officials, they could use Mr Dickinson to get it. Now do you follow?"

"Oh…that's bad…" Tyson said, bringing a hand to his face.

"Idiot…" Kai muttered under his breath.

"Of course it's bad Tyson!" Kenny wailed. "Mr Dickinson has been kidnapped! We have to save him!"

"There is no conclusive proof to say that has happened yet," Kai said sternly. "Besides, we wouldn't even know where to start looking. A kidnapper would leave a ransom or a clue of some sort, so enough with the over-dramatising Kenny. We get enough of that from Tyson."

"Hey!" Tyson scoffed, poking his tongue out at Kai. "I do not over-dramatise!"

"Hn. Whatever," Kai replied, turning his gaze back to outside.

"This is bad!" Hilary cried. "If Mr Dickinson is in danger, we need to tell somebody!"

"But as Kai said, there's no proof to say this has happened," Ray said, trying to calm Hilary down. "This is just a worst case scenario guys, we really shouldn't work ourselves up over it." amidst their discussion, no one noticed Kai stand up and go outside, and no one noticed the look of distress on his face as he did so. Tyson curled his hand into a fist.

"Where the hell is that man?" he asked furiously. "This just isn't like him to leave us worried about him!" the loud rustle of leaves could be heard coming from outside, but the Bladebreakers ignored it.

"I'm with Tyson, this is totally uncharacteristic of Mr Dickinson," Max agreed with his midnight blue haired companion. "He would have left us a message if he was going to be late. This doesn't feel right to me!"

"Found the rake my home boys!" old Mr Granger barged into the dojo room where the Bladebreakers were gathered, brandishing out the rake. Tyson sighed inwardly that his grandfather had found it, because now that meant Kai would run them ragged, or worse, Hilary would. Old Granger then walked over to the door and went outside to begin raking. There was silence for all of five minutes before Tyson's grandpa let out a yell of horror. The Bladebreakers clambered out of the door, only realising then that Kai was missing.

"Grandpa!! What is it?!" Tyson asked, running over to his grandfather as quickly as he could, with his friends in tow. Tyson and the others looked down at the spot Mr Granger had been staring at and their eyes widened in fear. Over the dry auburn leaves were small spatters of a red liquid, at first spread out thinly, then it seemed to grow in abundance as the trail moved towards the gate to the dojo. The liquid was smeared all over the stone walls and down the wooden gate.

"Blood!! It's blood!" Max cried out, clamping one hand over his mouth.

"But whose?" Kenny asked, following the trail out of the dojo. The red smear continued to run along the wall, and it grew clearer the further it went that the red liquid had emanated from a person's hand. Max was right; it was blood. The trail went to the corner of the street and then just stopped.

"It stopped…it stopped why did it stop?!" Ray asked in alarm.

"Shit…" Tyson muttered, yet it was loud enough for the Bladebreakers to hear him. The shot him a glare that could only be seen as fearful.

"W-w-what is it Tyson?" Max asked, his voice trembling as a deep feeling inside of himself told him this wasn't good.

"Look…" Tyson said, holding out a torn piece of what was once white fabric, but was now stained red. "Any ideas who owned this?" after a matter of milliseconds it dawned on them all who owned this particular garment: the only member of the team not present. "Kai…"

* * *

Kai opened his eyes groggily and slowly examined his surroundings. He was lying on a cold stone floor on his side, and he was unable to move his arms or his legs.

"Looks like he's come around," a male voice said. Two strong pairs of arms lifted Kai from his position and brought him to his feet. "Seems to me we went a bit overboard with this one." the voice was coming from the man at Kai's left.

"We have a point to make here, Joseph, going 'overboard' is no real issue," another male voice responded sharply.

"Who the…fuck are you people?" Kai asked slowly. "And where…am I?"

"Good questions," the other male voice responded in a sneering tone. He was standing in front of Kai and he took out his hand and lifted Kai's chin with it, so that Kai's eyes would meet his own. Those cold eyes seemed all-too-familiar to Kai.

"B-Boris!" Kai choked. A cold fist impacted his face.

"Don't you dare compare me to that man!" the male hissed furiously. " I will not be mistaken for my poor excuse for a brother!"

"Y-you're…not Boris?! Then you must be…" Kai's eyes widened in horror. If this wasn't Boris, he knew who this was. "Lewis!! Lewis Balkov!"

"You remember me then, do you Kai?" Lewis smiled darkly. "I'm rather surprised you do. Pleasantly surprised of course. Boris didn't think I was capable enough to be a teacher at The Abbey. He thought I was a mad man! He thought I was a mad man?!!" Lewis erupted into laughter. "Boris has failed so many times! His attempts to bring down the BBA have proven fruitless!! My plan was great! It was spectacular! It was to instil fear into all who opposed Biovolt!"

"But your brother and my grandfather weren't so keen on your plan," Kai said, his voice regaining its icy cold composure. "Your plan involved the massacre of Beybladers, and in doing so you would turn all who served Biovolt into monsters, and you all would have been shot on sight."

"So Boris told me the great Voltaire didn't like my idea," Lewis continued bitterly. "Voltaire thought it was too risky. But I tried to do it anyway! I tried!"

"You tried on me!" Kai hissed, remembering clearly now. "You took me from my bed while I was sleeping and tried to kill me!"

"I would have succeeded too, if you didn't have such a penchant for trouble, so much so that your grandfather had to check on you to make sure you were in your bed!" Lewis hissed back. "Yes, your grandfather found us. You were his precious tool, he was going to need you to fulfil his plan, so I was told to leave The Abbey, and when I refused, my own brother turned me over to a mental hospital!!"

"For good reason, was the first and last smart thing your brother ever did," Kai sneered, his remark met with yet another fist to his face.

"A brother does not turn on his brother!" Lewis said in a vile tone. "Boris betrayed me!! Now Biovolt is disbanded, Voltaire is in jail and my brother's attempt to regain his pride with that stupid BEGA group went up in smoke! But now I have a chance to prove to them all that my plan would have worked right from the start! The BBA will fall at my feet!"

"Not likely!" Kai spat back. "No one will ever do anything for you!"

"Really?" Lewis smiled. "Take him to the cell with the others." the two men holding Kai nodded and dragged Kai down into the lower levels of the building, where there was a dungeon. Kai was thrown into a cell with several other people. The two men locked Kai in, before doing so they relieved him of his Beyblade and released him from his shackles. They then turned and left to rejoin their master. Kai slammed his fist into the wall furiously, to be greeted with a throbbing pain that tore through his arm.

"Kai?" a familiar male voice asked. Kai turned and saw a battered Mr Dickinson in the cell with him.

"Mr Dickinson?" Kai seemed a little take aback by this, but not really too surprised. It now made so much sense.

"He's not the only one in here," another voice said. This voice belonged to a Chinese teen, who was in here with his team mates: a tall, well-built teenager, a shorter teen and a teenage girl. The White Tigers.

"White Tigers?!" Kai gasped. "Oh shit…we're in trouble now…"

End of part one

SN: You like? This was an idea I came up with while I was trying to get to sleep. The real powerful violence should be kicking in at about chapter three, so please to god listen to my warning! If you don't I can't be held responsible, cos there's a warning there. Hoped the first chapter didn't drag out too much, cos when I get writing it can be tough to stop. Any ideas for further progression are welcome, and if anyone finds reason for there to be a pairing here tell me! Just no Kai/Ray pairings, cos that idea has been done to death now. I'm cool whatever way the coin spins . I'm adaptable. Okay later days!


	2. The Truth Can Hurt

Two

"Kai what's going on?" Mariah asked, the fear that she felt obvious in her voice. "Who is that man? What does he want with us?"

"I couldn't say…" Kai lied. It was only a small lie, but a lie all the same. Kai could just as easily tell them what Lewis' plans were, but he didn't want to set them into panic mode. He'd have to tell them eventually, or else the only way they'd escape this place would be in black body bags. "I have to ask you: who else is here? Is it just you?"

"Oh no," Lee replied. "The All Stars and the Demolition Boys are here too."

"The teams that were in Moscow about five years ago…all of them are here…" Kai thought out loud, earning confused gazes from all in the cell with him.

"Kai what do you know?" Lee asked finally. "What you said earlier, claiming you knew nothing, that was a load of shit wasn't it?" Kai fell silent, his usual impassive expression holding its place on his features.

"I know enough," he replied after a silence. Lee's face creased into a frown and he strode forward, grabbing the neck of Kai's shirt in his hands.

"What do you know?! Tell us now!" Lee growled, annoyed at being kept in the dark concerning a predicament that they were all now involved in. for a while Kai said nothing, and Lee eventually gave up with him and sat back down. That was when Kai decided to speak.

"His name is Lewis Balkov. I knew him when I was a child, he's Boris' younger brother. He's obviously broken out of the nut house he was sent to all those years ago, because I doubt there's any way he was let loose," Kai looked down to the awestruck faces of his audience.

"So…there's more than one Boris in this world, hmm?" Lee mused.

"Lewis is worse. A lot worse. His original plan for Biovolt was to threaten young Beybladers with death to try and strike fear into all who dared oppose him. My grandfather favoured a more strategic approach as opposed to all-out brute force, so Lewis' plan didn't go down with him. Eventually Boris turned his back on his own brother, and this drove Lewis mad. He tried to burn The Abbey to the ground in a revenge bid, but that didn't work out, and Lewis was admitted to the state institute."

"The nut house."

"To put it plainly." Kai folded his arms and looked over to the pale faces of the White Tigers. "I'm still not sure how he got out, but I've got a good idea why he's decided to gather the top teams from the last tournament."

"Why is that?" Mariah asked, settling herself onto the floor and bringing her knees up to her chest.

"All the teams that are present here are important to the majority of the population. They're role models for young beybladers, and figures that everyone recognises. In taking them hostage, Lewis hopes to gain the attention of the people, and to insure he's serious, he plans to kill us."

"K-k-kill us?!" Mariah stuttered, her knees dropping to the floor, a wide-eyed gaze of terror on her cat-like features. "B-b-but why?!"

"What better way to prove you're serious is your bid than to kill someone the public cares so deeply about?" Kai focused on Mariah, not an inch of fear in his crimson eyes. He felt surprisingly calm and prepared. "If we don't figure out what to do from here, we'll all be leaving in body bags or in pieces."

"This is awful," Mr Dickenson finally spoke after sitting in silence for some time. "All of this just for some vendetta against the BBA."

"It's not just the BBA he's against," Kai turned to the elderly man. "It's Biovolt too. My guess is Lewis wants to show his brother and my grandfather that if they had listened to him, Biovolt would have never been disbanded by the BBA."

"Tell me, Kai," Lee began. "The Bladebreakers are the world rank number one team on the Beyblade circuit. Why are we here instead of them? And what's the deal with you? Why didn't they go after Tyson?"

"I betrayed Biovolt," Kai replied, smirking slightly. "Then again Lewis and I never really got on, and he's been looking for a reason to kill me for some time. As for the reason why the rest of the team aren't here…I don't know…" Kai paused, closing his eyes in thought. "I have no idea what plan he has for them." Kai wasn't used to talking this much, and it was agitating him that his cellmates were so inquisitive, and also knowing that he was the only one to offer any answers. A thick air of dread seemed to hang over their heads, all of them now knowing that some of them wouldn't make it out alive. Kai bit down on his lip lightly, wondering if he should have kept this to himself after all. It was too late to wonder now. He sat down on the cold stone floor, and began the process of bandaging his wounds with his already bloodied and torn scarf.

* * *

The police had swarmed on the Granger residence within minutes of Tyson making the call. It was mainly officers from the CSI division that had arrived, brandishing cameras, plastic bags, white gloves and other evidence gathering materials. Journalists had also arrived on the scene, not needing an excuse to pounce on the World Champion's home. Tyson was sat on one of the outer walkways of the dojo, his legs dangling over the side and his feet dragging along the ground slightly. Max and Ray were pacing about nervously behind him while Kenny and Hilary sat either side of Tyson, Kenny with his laptop already open and tapping in data of some amends.

"We won't know if it's Kai's blood until a DNA test comes back, Tyson," Hilary tried to reassure the bluenette. "Who knows, it could be someone else! You know how Kai is for wandering off! He'll probably show up tomorrow…" though she was trying to convince Tyson of Kai's safety, she felt it wasn't working, as she wasn't really convincing herself with her speech either. One of the CSI officers made their way over to the group, removing his gloves and placing them in his pocket. He stopped in front of Tyson, causing the teen to look up at him.

"We've collected some evidence from the scene," the officer said, a tone of kindness in his voice. "As soon as we attain any sort of result concerning the identity of the person who shed all this blood, you'll be the first to know, we promise."

"I'll take that as your word," Tyson said, his voice cracking. Even if it wasn't Kai's blood, someone had been hurt severely and had perhaps stumbled upon the dojo in search of aid. But all of the signs pointed to Kai.

"That scrap of fabric you found is going for analysis as well," the man's voice softened further. "There may be fingerprints present. There's a slim chance of finding any, but we'll look regardless." he held his hand out to Tyson, and Tyson shook it. "We'll be in touch as soon as we can." the group watched on as the police and the CSI officers slowly left, but the press remained.

"Made you little dudes some tea," Tyson's grandpa came up behind them, resting a hand on Tyson's shoulder. "You have to chill now. If that blood is your man Kai's, then we'll do whatever it takes to find him."

"Thanks grandpa," Tyson let a small smile etch its way onto his face as he placed his own hand over the old man's. They then all followed him to get some tea and gather their thoughts. A news broadcast made turned everything back upside down.

"Word has reached us here that three of the top teams in the world, the White Tigers, the All Stars and the Demolition Boys, are now missing. None of these teams have been seen for some time. This also coincides with the unusual disappearance of the head of the BBA, Stanley Dickenson, and the apparent disappearance of Bladebreakers captain Kai Hiwatari. We will keep you up-to-date on the situation as it unfolds," the newscaster read. Everyone suddenly stopped what they were doing.

"White Tigers?" Ray said slowly, unable to take in that his old team were also gone.

"The All Stars…all of them…gone…" Max swallowed hard, praying that his mother wasn't among the missing.

"And the Demolition Boys," Kenny looked at the television then back at his laptop. "It's strange that some of the top figures in Beyblading have vanished."

"But Chief," Tyson turned to the shorter teen. "We're the top team in the world! Why didn't this happen to all of us? Why just Kai?"

"I don't know Tyson," Kenny replied, closing up his laptop and sliding it off of the table, resting his elbows on the shiny wooden surface. In the middle of the weather forecast, the picture started to faze out, and gave way to the image of a man in a barely lit room.

"Who the…?" Tyson began, but he was hushed by Hilary as the man began to speak, a familiar evil glint in his eye.

"Greetings Bladebreakers. I stand here before you as a man with a dream: a dream of an ideal world. But we are far from reaching this idealistic vision I hold within my heart. If we all work together, however, I'm sure this vision can be achieved," the man began.

"That look…" Tyson focused on the man intently. "It's so…familiar…the way he speaks…it's all so familiar to me…but from where?!"

"Tyson be quiet!" Hilary hissed.

"I will accomplish something that so many have failed to do: I will control the population of this planet andthe peoplewill all conduct my will accordingly."

"Another world dominator wannabe," Ray sighed.

"And just in case you're nottaking me seriously," the man sneered suddenly, reaching out into the darkness around him for something. "Here's a little persuasion." he held before them a teenage boy with two-tone hair. The face paint that once adorned him was smeared and faded, replaced with the red of blood, his crimson eyes seemed diminished. The man had the teen grasped by the neck, pulling out a switchblade from his pocket and running it gently across the pale flesh of his throat.

"Kai!" Tyson cried, jumping to his feet and knocking the tea flying in every direction.

"He is not the only beyblader in my custody, as I have collected many over this past week," the man's smile was dark and sinister, as he began to run the blade across Kai's face. "Here, I make a demand to you, the Bladebreakers, the only team I have not yet acquired, for I know that youare watching for news ofyour precious captain." he started to run the blade in deeper. Kai winced slightly but remained soundless. He didn't want to give Lewis the pleasure of hearing him scream in pain. "I'm giving you 24 hours, no more, no less. In that time,you must use the power that I am awareyou all have withinyou to make the people follow my cause. If, by the time 24 hours has expired, I have the world's population at my feet, I will release my captives. But, if by then there has been no improvement in my situation, all of them will die. 24 hours boys." and with this, his communiqué came to an end, and the weather report returned, as if the announcement had never happened.

"24 hours…" Tyson looked around at the faces of his team mates. "It isn't long…but it's all the time we have. We can't bend to his will like that, so we'll just have to track him down and stop him. He seems smart, whoever he is, so chances are he's jammed all ability of tracking him through his broadcast transmission."

"OK, Kenny, I think this has effected Tyson," Hilary whispered to the bespectacled youth beside her. "He sounds like he knows what he's saying! I had no idea Tyson had a brain under his hat!"

"Heard that," Tyson scowled at the girl. "Hilary, this is no game. I can be smart when I try, you know. This is Kai's life and the lives of three other teams that are on the line, and no doubt Mr Dickenson's life too. We have to think rationally here and try to get them before that freak does."

"Tyson's right," Max nodded. "We're wasting time sitting here. Let's get started!"

* * *

SN: cowers behind a pillow Yeah I know this update is totally late and I'm sorry for anyone who has been waiting on an update for this! It's not just laziness! My muses have been messing me around, plus I've had schoolwork to do not to mention all the catch-up I had to do when I was sick. Two weeks man! Stopped eating and sleeping altogether! Nasty I tell ya! Keep your eyes peeled for the first victim of Lewis next chapter, and thank you to everyone who reviewed! tears well up in eyes I feel so loved! 


	3. Reasoning Free From Pain

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Three

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To all that sent me hugs: _I luv you! And for you guys I post this update! And to _**Pain, Death, Torture** _concerning what you said in your review…how did you ever guess my dastardly plan? **Mariah fans turn back now! Violence kicks off here! **XD Hallo to _**siliana : blue**_ who is German! I take German at school so keep in touch! PS! Decided there is to be no pairing! It'll be easier for me instead of having to make up my mind! I though I was indecisive, but now I'm not so sure!_

"Twenty-four hours! Twenty-four hours…twenty-four hours!" Tyson continued to repeat the words out-loud as he paced about his room. Although the Bladebreakers had decided to take action against this new threat, they didn't know where to start. They weren't an Anti-Terrorist force or trained police officers: they were Beybladers.

"Tyson calm down," Ray looked up to his pacing comrade from his seated position on the floor. "We're all thinking about this, but we have to think carefully. One wrong move and that could spell disaster."

"That's exactly it!" Tyson almost exploded, the pent-up emotion he'd been keeping to himself bursting free. "Someone is going to die! I can't bear the thought of anyone being killed by that…that…" Tyson couldn't think of the appropriate word to call the kind of person Lewis was. A murderer? A psychopath? Whatever word Tyson though of, it all stemmed back to the satanic nature of Lewis' plan. How would death solve anything?

"Tyson you're gonna tread a huge hole in the floor," Hilary said plainly, trying her best to conceal her own worry, but failing spectacularly.

"I don't care Hilary…I just want Kai to be alright…I don't want him to die…not after all we did just to secure his trust!" Tyson bit down on his lower lip hard, fear creasing on his forehead.

"Then again this isn't just about Kai," Ray noted, standing up. "The White Tigers, the All Stars, the Demolition Boys, Mr Dickenson; they're all involved now too. We have a lot of lives resting on our shoulders, we can't mess up."

Kai ran a pale finger lightly over the incision across his neck. It stung like mad, but he chose not to complain about it. After all, he wasn't the type to complain about something that insignificant. The tension in the cell had mounted after Lewis' private broadcast to the Bladebreakers and Kai had returned to them bearing a cut neck.

"I'm scared…" Mariah mumbled, curled up with her knees underneath her chin and her arms hugging her legs. "Lee…are we…"

"Don't you even dare to think like that Mariah!" Lee snapped. "You're not going to die!"

"I hope I get to see Ray again…" Mariah continued to mumble on, looking over to the small barred window when she heard a little bird outside.

"Kai, they let you out, do you have any idea where the other teams are?" Lee asked, looking over to the Bladebreakers captain.

"They're not on this cell block, of that I'm certain," Kai replied, still tentatively touching the wound around his throat. "I didn't see them. They must be in another cell block in another part of this compound. It's huge, I'm surprised this guy hasn't been found yet."

"I'm sure the others are alive," Mr Dickenson said, wiping his forehead with his handkerchief. A sudden loud clanking noise echoed through the cell block, and the prison mates all froze upon the sound of approaching footsteps. They looked over to the barred door to see Lewis leering in at them.

"And how are my favourite little pets today?" he sneered, glaring over at Kai in particular, who shot him back one of his patented death glares.

"Let us out of here you freak!" Lee hissed, clenching his fists and turning to face Lewis.

"Now, now, calm down Lee. Threatening me will get you nowhere," Lewis looked over to Lee disapprovingly, then his poisonous gaze fell onto the trembling figure of Mariah. He could see the fear in her cat-like eyes, and a spark seemed to be set off inside of him. Kai noticed this before anyone else did.

"No!" Kai moved over to where Lewis was now standing, inside of the cell, and grabbed him by his jacket. "No Lewis! I'm the one you want! Stop looking at Mariah like that!" Kai's remarks were greeted with the sudden rush of cold steel through his leg, and a loud bang echoed through the cell block. A rush of pain shot to Kai's head, telling him he'd been shot.

"Now Kai, I'm not going to be leaving you out," Lewis fixed his gaze on the pale teen, grabbing his arm viciously. "You are, after all, one of my favourite little pets. But I must show the Bladebreakers that I mean business, and to do that I have to fulfil my end of the deal…"

"Mariah…" Lee suddenly realised what this all meant for Mariah. He looked down at her in desperation, but she was unmoving. Lewis pushed Kai back to the wall, hitting Kai's head off of the concrete quite hard, but not hard enough to knock him out. Lewis called in his guards to restrain the White Tigers and Mr Dickenson while he pulled Mariah to her feet.

"Kai…" she said finally, her voice raspy and laced through with an edge of fright. Kai looked up at her, his leg in a vast amount of pain making moving difficult, let alone getting up to protest Mariah being taken. "I want you to…do something for me…"

"What's that?" Kai asked, aware that Mariah knew what was coming her way, and was for some reason willingly letting it all happen.

"Tell Ray…when you see him…that I love him…" she smiled faintly as Kai tried to pull himself to his feet using the wall, but he started to feel dizzy due to the knock on his head from the same wall earlier.

"No…Mariah! Don't just let him kill you!"

"If I do…maybe it'll buy the Bladebreakers some time to save all of you…" her voice grew weaker with every word that passed her lips, and Lewis just smiled darkly.

"My dear girl…if all goes according to plan, even if the world falls to me, your friends will all die," and with this, Lewis dragged her away, never to be seen by her team-mates ever again.

"This is…a trap…a total…set-up…" Kai said, his voice becoming slurred as he started to feel the knock to his head taking a greater effect over him.

"Kai? Kai are you alright? KAI!" Lee called out to him, running to his side as he slowly lost consciousness.

Mariah was brought into a sterile room, where only Lewis and two others were present save herself. Everything about this room felt cold and unwelcoming, so clean that the smell of the disinfectant stung Mariah's nose.

"Now…my dear Mariah…" Lewis' tone took on a slightly more sinister quality as he placed a large heavy hand on Mariah's petite shoulder. "Your time has arrived, my dear. I'd like you to do this with a minimal amount of fuss, if possible." Mariah's mind was in a haze. She didn't know what was going on around her anymore. She was lifted onto a steel table and fastened to the table with irons.

"What should we do to her, sir?" one of Lewis' assistants asked. Lewis smiled, looking down at the condemned teenager before him.

"I have an idea…" Lewis moved fluidly over to a table where some cutting tools were placed. He picked up a pair of scissors, then picked up a surgical knife. "This little lady is in love with one of the Bladebreakers. She told young Kai to send him her love should Kai ever see his friends ever again. But I propose we send him a piece of her heart…there's no romantic statement quite like receiving a piece of someone's once-beating heart…" he drew from his pocket a small tape recorder, and pressed the microphone end to Mariah's face. "Consider this your 'last hurrah' my dear. I want you to send a little message to your beloved, say what you want." he pressed the record button and Mariah compliantly recorded her message for Ray.

"Now what?" Mariah asked quietly, her voice almost a hushed whisper by now. Lewis took the scissors in his hands and cut at the fabric of her pink shirt, cutting it away entirely.

"I want to send Ray a little gift, from you of course. What better way to say 'I love you' than to send your special someone the last remnants of your existence, the very organ with which you loved him…"

"What!" Mariah suddenly snapped back into reality. "What…what are you going to do to me!"

"Hush now, dear, it's a simple but life-threatening procedure. I guarantee you'll die as soon as I attain the sample from your heart," Lewis was still so calm, etching out the line of where he would cut with a blue pencil.

"Why! Why do you have to do this!" Mariah sobbed. "We've never done anything to you! Why would you want to kill us!"

"To prove my power!" Lewis snapped, throwing the pencil aside in a fury. "No one ever took what I said seriously, not even my fool of a brother stood by my side! He was too busy licking the boots of that hideous old man Voltaire! But now I'm going to prove to everyone that ever doubted what I said that I can and will gain control! You're all just puppets in my little show; figureheads for me to the public. What would your fans do if they found out someone was willing to kill their favourite stars? Why, they'd do whatever I told them to!"

"No they wouldn't!" Mariah said through her tears. "They'd never give in to you! I know the Bladebreakers will stop you before you kill anyone else!"

"But they won't have time to save you now, will they?" Lewis reached for one of the sharpest cutting tools on the table beside him and placed the tip against Mariah's delicate skin. She bit back the urge to scream. "I'd brace yourself for this, my dear, because this is really going to hurt…" and so he began, cutting through her as if she were paper. Opting not to give Lewis the pleasure of seeing her scream in agony, Mariah bit down harder on her lip and stifled her cries for mercy. A sudden sharp pain shot through Mariah's entire body and she suddenly fell limp.

"Sir, I think she's dead," one of the assistants said after a brief silence in noticing that Mariah was no longer moving or sobbing.

"And I only just finished cutting her open," Lewis sneered. "We can continue the procedure uninterrupted then. And we can tear apart whatever bone or organ gets in our way without the little wench whining."

"Yes, sir."

"Prepare to send the tape and this sample I am about to collect to the Bladebreakers. I hope Ray gets to read this…" Lewis tore through Mariah, smashing her rib cage and pulling her lungs aside before he tore out a small piece of her heart. He examined it in the tweezers which gripped it as blood streamed down the sterile metal. He then looked over to the dead Mariah. "My dear, Ray will receive your message…after all, who couldn't get a message that comes with your heart…"

****

23 hours to go…

"We've wasted a whole hour just sitting here!" Hilary cried, her hands flying up to her head in frustration. "Who knows what Lewis has done in that hour!"

"No time wasted, Hil," Max came in from the next room where he and Kenny had been trying to work out where Lewis was hiding. "Kenny and I have been working non-stop to try and locate Lewis' hiding place via his satellite feed. We're getting a few faint signals, some stuff he'd probably never think of covering, but we're nowhere near a solution yet."

"At least it's something," Tyson sighed, feeling a small portion of the weight on his heart relieving.

"I found this stuck to the door post," Max held out a large padded envelope. "I don't recognise the handwriting and there's no return address." he handed the envelope over to Tyson, who examined it briefly before tearing it open. He tipped the contents onto the table. Inside the envelope was a smaller white envelope and a tape.

"Play it," Ray insisted. "It could be from Lewis." Tyson nodded and went over to the tape player, fumbling with the tape in his hands as his heart rate started to climb. He put the tape in and pressed the play button.

"Ray…" the voice on the recording was that of a young girl.

"Mariah!" Ray cried out in horror, running to the tape player.

"Ray…I know you're listening to this, and I know you're worried for us. But you don't need to be. Everything is going to be alright. I just pray that you figure out something soon, so that you'll rescue the others."

"I'll rescue you too Mariah! I'll rescue you too!" Ray felt the sting of tears in his eyes at Mariah's words. They sounded so final.

"Kai has a message from me to give to you when you see him next. Everyone is well, but Kai was shot. He's strong, so I'm sure he'll survive."

"Shot!" Tyson almost flew up four feet into the air upon hearing this. "What! Why was he shot!"

"Sssh! Tyson!" Ray hissed, as he tried to hear the remainder of the tape.

"We'll catch up again soon. Take care Ray." and with that, the tape ended. Ray looked over to Max.

"It's from Mariah…but how did she communicate with us?" Ray looked back to the tape player, then suddenly noticed the terrified look in Tyson's eyes.

"'Dear Bladebreakers, I hope you'll be taking me seriously from now on. Here's something I think Mariah wanted young Ray to have, yours, Lewis,'" Tyson read from the little piece of paper inside the envelope, his voice slightly shaky, looking over to Ray when he was done.

"She wanted me to have?" Ray asked. Tyson swallowed hard, fighting back his own tears as he held up a small, clear bag. Ray walked over to Tyson to inspect the bag's contents further.

"Ray…" Tyson's voice was breaking apart as he tried to figure out how to tell Ray what he knew. "In the bag…it's a piece of Mariah's heart…wrapped in that favourite bandanna of hers…" Ray's eyes widened, tears flowing freely from them. "Ray…Mariah's been killed…I'm so sorry…"

"How do you know it's hers!" Ray cried, slowly becoming hysterical. "It could be anything!"

"Ray…" Tyson felt awful for what he was about to tell Ray. "It says on this letter from Lewis: 'there is no love token more precious than a precious piece of what was once Mariah's beating heart. Cherish it, Ray, it is the last remnant of the girl you will ever see.'" the truth sunk in for Ray at that moment. He had lost her, before he'd even been able to tell her how important she was to him. This was no longer a false promise: it was reality.

"Ray…" Max put a comforting hand on Ray's shoulder, tears trickling down his own cheeks for his friend's loss.

"It's…OK guys…" Ray's eyes were downcast, and when he looked up, they flared in anger. "It just gives me an extra reason to see that man go down!"


End file.
